Bike share program to launch in downtown Grand Rapids

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File photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

Bike share program to launch in downtown Grand Rapids

File photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — More than 60 bikes are expected to be available next month as part of a Grand Rapids bike share pilot program.

The initiative is organized by Spoke Folks, and will be focused on the downtown area, Jay Niewiek, executive director for the company, said. The bike share would cost riders $1 per ride plus 15 cents a minute, Niewiek said.

If the pilot program is successful, Spoke Folks plans to expand it citywide by the spring of 2016.

Niewiek said that Spoke Folks hopes to launch the bike-share program with 66 bikes by early July. The program is a private venture and does not involve taxpayer funds, he said.